Sophomore Patrick Hazard doesn’t let the falling temperatures stop him from enjoying a frozen treat. Br. Billy Dardis, S.J. ’58 frequently sets up a table near the Student Commons to sell a variety of sweet treats to hungry Blue Jays. The proceeds from Brother’s efforts benefit the mission drive. During this Lenten season filled with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, Blue Jays can find several ways to give to those less fortunate and be conscious of the needs of others — such as the lunch pizza sales or Friday’s pretzel fast.

At the front of the line, freshman Robert Argote eagerly awaits a slice of pizza from Mr. Cyril Lagvanec during lunch on Wednesday. Homeroom 1203 sells 30-40 pizzas ($2 a slice or $12 for a whole pie) to hungry Blue Jays daily throughout Lent to support the school-wide Mission Drive. All proceeds go to the Santa Rosa missions in Paraguay.

As the work on “100-year renovation” of the Chapel of the Holy Name of Jesus (small chapel) enters its final stages, the intricate stained glass of the central dome shines brighter than ever. Students and faculty/staff members walking through the second floor hallway of the administration wing regularly peek in to watch as construction progresses. Drawing on the Moresque style of Immaculate Conception Church on Baronne Street, the chapel was originally built downtown in 1901 as part of the Jesuit College, as the school was then known. When Jesuit built its high school at the current location, the stained glass, altar, and pews of the chapel were reconstructed on site.

Mrs. Meg Jennings brought her camera to the Media Club’s photography workshop led by parent volunteer Jeff Strout. Pre-freshman Travis Talamo, junior Cameron Armand, and sophomore Luke Navarro also attended in hopes to learn more about the art and science of photography. Strout, who has been a professional photographer for over 20 years, explained how to best use various digital camera settings to get the perfect shot. Future workshops will be posted in Daily Announcements.

Junior Malachi Hull executes an extremely difficult reverse dunk during a lunchtime contest held Friday by the Student Council in the Traditions Courtyard. The purpose of this fun dunking event was to “net” student support of Jesuit’s basketball and soccer teams, both of which are currently in post-season playoffs for a state championship. The Blue Jay soccer team plays St. Paul’s on Saturday night for the state championship. Unfortunately, the Blue Jay cagers were bounced in the first round following their 61-46 loss to Mandeville Friday evening in the Skippers’ gym.

Communications director and Jaynotes editor Pierre DeGruy ’69 takes a photo of Blue Jay alumni who were star players and co-captains on Jesuit’s state championship football teams. From left are Al Widmer ’43, Don Ford ’47, Will Billon ’54, and Larry Ecuyer ’61. Widmer, a halfback on offense who also played as a defensive back, was on Jesuit’s 1940 and 1941 state championship teams. Ford was the Blue Jays’ right guard on the 1946 state championship team. Billon and Ecuyer were centers and linebackers on Jesuit’s 1953 and 1960 championship teams, respectively. On the table in front of the quartet are the trophies that represent Jesuit’s eight football state championships: 1933, 1940, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1953, 1960, and 2014, the most recent prize won by the Blue Jays last December.  The photo will be featured as part of a retrospective article in the upcoming issue of Jaynotes, the magazine of Jesuit High School.

Junior Trey Hollander signs up to receive more information about volunteering with Youth Rebuilding New Orleans (YRNO) and visits with the group’s executive director William Stoudt ’07. YRNO was one of several service organizations on campus as part of the annual service fair. Blue Jays attending the fair were able to get information on a range of service opportunities and meet with agency representatives. 

If these Blue Jays have 3 minutes left to study, how many seconds does that equal? Students in Ms. Khan Nguyen’s Algebra I class ask a few final questions about equations to help sharpen their skills before they sharpen their pencils for a test.  

Several Blue Jays rode in Metairie’s Krewe of Argus Parade on Mardi Gras Day. Maddie Cvitanovich served as Queen of Argus. Maddie is a senior at Mt. Carmel Academy and a Jesuit cheerleader. Pictured here are Blue Jay seniors Dan Edmund, Cole Guillory, Harrison Daste, Will Arnold, Daniel Augustin, David Boh, Logan Hornung, Andrew Amedee, and Blake Eichhorn, sophomore Todd Crabtree, and seniors Blake Jaubert and Will Arseneaux. 

Today’s king cake party during lunch was complete with a small band playing popular Mardi Gras tunes in Traditions Courtyard. Mr. Jason Giaccone led on trumpet, Mr. Andrew Dykema joined in on clarinet, and Ms. Nilda Rivera picked up a napkin from a nearby table for a “Second Line.”  And, as the “Carnival Time” lyrics go, “everybody’s havin’ fun.”

Blue Jays celebrated Chinese New Year and the year of the goat a week early. Students noshed on General Tso chicken, fried rice, and fortune cookies for lunch in the cafeteria. Blue Jays also had a chance to win one of four gift cards to Panda Express. Joining in on the culinary fun are (clockwise, from left) sophomores Julian Mahfouz, Justin Leveque, Richi Fernando, B.J. Guient, and Hayden Lichtl. 

Mr. Patrick Benoit’s French students were among the first Blue Jays to visit with some extraordinary guests today. Gunnery Sergeant Daniel Garcia of the Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard brought two horses to sit a spell (or stand, as horses do) to campus. This military unit performs precision color guard movements in numerous types of events and will show off their talents in three different parades this Mardi Gras. This unit is stationed aboard the Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, Ca., representing the Marine Corps and the Logistics Base throughout the United States. Read more about their visit.

Pre-freshman Gavin Skipper (left) gets animated while talking with classmates Owen Hite and Ben Wessel in the Traditions Courtyard Tuesday afternoon. 

Junior defensive back Jakirai Wiley came up with a huge interception in the second quarter of the Jesuit – John Curtis Division 1 State Championship Game back on December 5, 2014 in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The play was voted as the “2014 Takeaway of the Year” in a contest sponsored by Nola.com/Times-Picayune. Initially, the ballots by readers produced a three-way tie. On Friday, Nola.com announced the final results: Wiley captured almost 64% of the votes submitted by readers to win the runoff, er, hands-up! Congratulations to Jakirai Wiley for this recognition!
Read more about the contest and watch a video of the interception.

Seniors Wyatt Comeaux, Bailey Graffagnini, and Sam Clutter dissect a fetal pig in Mrs. Amy Tassin’s Biology II class. The course explores details of human anatomy and physiology and the lab activity of dissecting a fetal pig helps students learn about mammalian anatomy.

The 1,422 Blue Jays who gathered Wednesday morning in the Chapel of the North American Martyrs for monthly Mass exit in an orderly fashion, in silence. The Feast of St. John De Brito is celebrated on Feb. 4. De Brito was born into a wealthy Portuguese family and entered the Society of Jesus at age 15. He spent most of his life in India ministering to the poor. De Brito died a martyr. In his homily, Jesuit president Fr. Anthony McGinn, S.J. ’66 encouraged Blue Jays to open their hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit as God has a plan for us all.